Tag: English

‘Black linguistic justice’: Professors demand end to standard English as the norm

Abolish ‘White Mainstream English,’ English professors argue 

A national professional association of writing instructors recently published a list of demands that argued the current emphasis on standard English is rooted in racism and called for a complete overhaul of how language is taught.

It was published by a subcommittee with the Conference on College Composition and Communication, part of the National Council of Teachers of English.

The statement called for an end to “White Mainstream English,” arguing such an action would “decolonize” students’ minds and the English language, as well as help students “unlearn white supremacy.”

The demands were written by five English professors and a writing scholar and the document is titled: “This Ain’t Another Statement! This is a DEMAND for Black Linguistic Justice!”

“The language of Black students has been monitored, dismissed, demonized—and taught from the positioning that using standard English and academic language means success,” the professors argued.

They added such a set-up “creates a climate of racialized inferiority toward Black Language and Black humanity.”

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‘Asinine’: Rutgers alters grammar rules for nonwhite students to ‘stand’ with Black Lives Matter movement

Rutgers University’s English department declared that proper grammar is racist.

“This approach challenges the familiar dogma that writing instruction should limit emphasis on grammar [and] sentence-level issues so as to not put students from multilingual, nonstandard, ‘academic’ English backgrounds at a disadvantage,” department chairwoman Rebecca Walkowitz said. “Instead, it encourages students to develop a critical awareness of the variety of choices available to them [with] regard to micro-level issues in order to empower them and equip them to push against biases based on ‘written’ accents.”

The school’s English department will alter its grammar standards to “stand with and respond” to the Black Lives Matter movement, the Washington Free Beacon reported.

The department head said that the program will hold “workshops on social justice and writing,” will increase the “focus on graduate student life,” and incorporate “‘critical grammar’ into our pedagogy” in the wake of George Floyd’s death and the resulting calls to end racism and police brutality.

Walkowitz added that the New Jersey school’s graduate writing program will emphasize “social justice” and “critical grammar” in its courses, which will include more reading on subjects related to racism, sexism, homophobia, and “systemic discrimination.”

Some have denounced the move as “insulting” and racist because it assumes minority students can’t understand correct grammar.

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Rutgers English Department to deemphasize traditional grammar ‘in solidarity with Black Lives Matter’

The English Department at Rutgers University recently announced a list of “anti-racist” directives and initiatives for the upcoming fall and spring semesters, including an effort to deemphasize traditional grammar rules.

The initiatives were spelled out by Rebecca Walkowitz, the English Department chair at Rutgers University, and sent to faculty, staff and students in an email, a copy of which was obtained by The College Fix.

Walkowitz sent the email on “Juneteenth,” which celebrates the commemoration of emancipation from slavery in the United States.

Titled “Department actions in solidarity with Black Lives Matter,” the email states that the ongoing and future initiatives that the English Department has planned are a “way to contribute to the eradication of systemic inequities facing black, indigenous, and people of color.”

One of the initiatives is described as “incorporating ‘critical grammar’ into our pedagogy.”

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